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The older I get I become more convinced that one of the keys of being really good at EMS are our non-medical skills. Non medical skills like English. Math, Sociology, etc. definitely mark a difference in understanding the context of our patients overall condition therefore better enabling us to provide a more complete,kind, and comprehensive care. It also allows us economy of communication and thought that will make you quick and sure. I entered EMS as an adult so I had a lifetime of college learning and career experience under my belt. It made a difference in how fast I could integrate into the service and marks a definite difference in the care patients receive as compared to the care they get from other EMT's in the same service. A general education will make you a more well rounded person as well as a more complete provider. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I am that great, I am saying that I am better that I would have been if I had not had the advantage of an broad education. All of those other courses will make you a more educated provider even if they are not directly related to Paramedical Sciences. Dwayne makes a good case for the fact that if you have the opportunity to go to an AAS program, you should go for it. As far as EMT anatomy goes, you have to acknowledge that in class you are only going to get a general idea of the materials you are expected to learn. This will be consistent in all of your EMT course. You will get the basics of every condition. For example: Your basic class will most likely define muscle contraction as the shortening of a muscle fiber. It will not explain active ad passive transport, action potentials, polarization, depolarization, Calcium and potassium transport, actin, miosin or the host of enzymes and metabolic processes that are involved in muscle contraction. This is why it is a basic course. It is up to you to fill in the planks using your book as a blueprint. depending on what book you have will have a complementary web page to help you study. Therefore it is up to you to have the initiative to read and learn the information in your textbook. Take advantage of all of the wonders of the internet to get explanations for things that don't make sense. If you just Google Human Anatomy you will find a host of free interactive programs where you can practice and hone your knowledge. Each module of EMT will build on the one before. Don't worry about clinicals now, just worry about anatomy. By the time you get to clinicals you will have had the opportunity to learn everything you need to succeed. Most of all, take a step back, relax, get a good cup pf coffee, roll up your sleeves and study hard. In a few months you can come back and tell us how easy it was to pass your finals and become an EMT.